Updating a dem2terrain or geographic theater with SRTM data

[Blueprint]

NOTE: Due to real life issues, I am unable to provide this service any longer. Sorry.


Updating a dem2terrain or geographic theater with SRTM data
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Warning:
It may not be possible to create good data for certain theaters.

Compatible:
- SP4, OF, FF3, possibly others

Requirements:
- (dem2terrain) theater center coordinates (lat/lon)
- Theater size: 64 or 128
- The theater's falcon4.ocd
- The theater's falcon4.fed
- All theater objectives must have been placed at their final positions

Step 1:
- Open TacEdit.
- Load the TE/campaign file that holds all of your theater's objectives.
- Select Objectives > Export Objectives and save the file as "objectives.csv".

Step 2:
- Compress the following files from your theater with zip, rar or 7z
* falcon4.ocd
* falcon4.fed
* objectives.csv

Step 3:
- Create a new email to me.
- Set subject to "Theater SRTM Update [Theater name]".
- Put the theater center coordinates and the theater size in the text.
- Attach the compressed file you created in Step 2.
- Send the email.
- Wait for my reply.

Step 4:
- You will receive a download link for your personalized BaZT - SRTM Theater installer.
- The compressed file contains the SRTM data for your theater as well as the installer, that puts the data into the theater's Lx files.
- There is also a new set of 2-byte L2/O2 files, if you want to retile the theater.
- You can run BaZT - SRTM Theater.exe from your theater installer using special command line parameters (quotation marks are required and the path must end without a '\':
Parameter 1: "The users's F4 dir", example: "c:\microprose\falcon4"
Parameter 2: "Your theater dir", where the terrain and texture folders are, example: "c:\microprose\falcon4\spain"
Parameter 3 (optional): -sptinstall
This will create all terrain Lx/Ox files from an L2/O2 file before starting the SRTM update. Then you only have to include the L2/O2 in your installer which saves a lot of space.

Step 5:
- After you have installed the SRTM data for the first time, you have to open your theater's L2 file in the F4 install location with Pathmaker and create new .thr and .mea files.
- Place these files in your installer for installation before distributing your theater installer.

[T_Rex]

Parameter 3 (optional): -sptinstall
This will create all terrain Lx/Ox files from an L2/O2 file before starting the SRTM update. Then you only have to include the L2/O2 in your installer which saves a lot of space.

Could you elaborate a bit on this?

What does the parameter 3 option of running sptinstall give as opposed to not running it?

Also, just to confirm - your process produces new terrain levels of every level, not just the down low levels, eh?

:thumbs:

[Blueprint]

If you don't use -sptinstall parameter, the BaZT installer requires ALL Lx/Ox files to be present in the terrain folder. When BaZT runs, it will update ALL levels with new elevations.

If you use the -sptinstall parameter, BaZT ONLY needs the theater's L2/O2 files in the terrain folder (besides the map and mea of course). BaZT will then run sptinstall to create the missing Lx/Ox levels and afterwards update ALL levels with new elevations.

[T_Rex]

If you don't use -sptinstall parameter, the BaZT installer requires ALL Lx/Ox files to be present in the terrain folder. When BaZT runs, it will update ALL levels with new elevations.

If you use the -sptinstall parameter, BaZT ONLY needs the theater's L2/O2 files in the terrain folder (besides the map and mea of course). BaZT will then run sptinstall to create the missing Lx/Ox levels and afterwards update ALL levels with new elevations.

Ok, so do they end up with basically the same thing?

I think I understand the difference, though. If you're building a package designed to include everything in the installer, you'd run it without the -sptinstall to have BaZT generate each .L* then include those with your installpackage.

But, if you are putting something together more like the PMC theaters, which run SPTinstall from the installer, then you'd use the -sptinstall switch to just make the L2/O2 and package them in the installpackage.

Is that about right, or am I hopelessly lost? Again.

Oh, and are there any LOS calculations done with the SRTM?

[Blueprint]

Yes.

BaZT does not do anything related to LOS. As I understand it, LOS depends on the mea or thr file (don't remember) which has to be recreated by Pathmaker.

[T_Rex]

Roger, Roger... err Bluey.

Thanks for your effort and information. :thumbs:

Edit: BTW - "yes" as in correct, or "yes" as in hopelessly lost (again).

Never mind, I'll pretend like it is the former.

[Blueprint]

"yes" as in correct